Friends or More?
by 143sasusaku
Summary: Sasuke is already in his senior year. He doesn't have any interest in dating girls before he graduates. However, his friends made him ask Sakura, a nerdy girl, out to prove that he's straight
1. Chapter 1 The Pink-Haired Girl

**Friends or More**

NOTE: Okay, I haven't read or watched Naruto and haven't written any stories for a long time. I decided to write once again and change the plot of this story. The characters in Naruto all belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Anyway, sorry if I'm not a good writer. Hopefully, I've improved….or not…Enjoy

PS: The characters are OOC. I also would like to apologize in advance if I made any grammatical errors.

**Chapter 1: The Pink-haired girl**

I walk in the hallway of my former school. Well, soon-to-be-former school. I will be graduating this year and have no idea what I'm going to do after that. My friends said that I should be a model since almost all the girls want to be with me. I'm not trying to brag or anything. I could care less about those girls. I don't even have any interest in dating one. I just want to have a peace of mind. Girls are a headache. Relationships are a headache. Everything is a headache. Speaking of headaches, I now see Naruto running his way to me, waving his hands, with his eyes glowing like he hasn't seen me in days. Geez, it was only an hour last time he saw me.

"Oi Sasuke! Guess what! Guess what!" the idiot shouted.

"Don't shout. I'm right in front of you."

"Sorry. Anyway, guess what? Remember Hinata?"

The image of happiness can be seen all over his face. Hinata, the purple-haired girl with the weird eyes that Naruto has a crush on. He's been courting her and asking her out for a few weeks now. I bet they're now together that's why he's so excited. But then again, he's as excited as he is even when Hinata just says his name.

"So what about her?"

"She said yes!"

"What?"

I guess I'm right. They are together now.

"She said yes. She will give me the cookies that she will bake in her class."

Or not. I should have known that this kind of simple thing will make him happy. If she said yes to him, he would probably been tumbling around the hall.

"…and" he whispers. And what? Now he's blushing. What the heck is wrong with this guy?

"And what?"

"We're a couple now!" I hear someone sneeze and I look at my friend. His face is beaming at me now. Did I hear right? They're a couple now?

"Say that again." I say.

"We're a couple now. Hinata and I are officially a couple." He continues to smile.

There you go. I'm right. I'm surprised he's not tumbling like I suspected but then again, he was blushing which was unusual.

_RIIIIIIING_

There goes the bell.

"Congrats. See you dobe." I say and walk to my next class.

_RIIIIIIING_

I see a pink-haired girl with glasses running to the same door I'm going to. She stops as soon as she sees me about to enter.

"Sorry" she whispers and enters the room. Heh, another weird girl. What's her name again? Sara? Sina? Sa-? Nevermind. I should go to my seat.

"Ah, Mr. Uchiha. Right in time. Go to your seat."

"Hn"

"Okay class, continue what you were doing yesterday. Finish your reviewer for this coming Chemistry final"

I sigh. Another final. What will be the use of these formulas to me? I don't plan on getting into medicine or anything like that. Why am I even taking this class?

"Hey Mira" I hear a girl whisper.

"Yo, what's up" the girl, Mira, replies.

"Have you asked Sakura about her essay?"

"Sakura? Essay? What are you talking about?"

"You know, our English essay. Don't tell me you haven't asked little miss pinky." The other girl whispered angrily.

Oh, so that's her name. Sakura. I remember. Sakura Haruno. One of the A students. I look in front to see the girl with the glasses writing something down in her notebook. She's in my English class too. She doesn't stand out too much except for that unusual hair of hers.

"Mira, Rei, go back to work." I hear the teacher say.

I pretend to write something for the next hour until I hear the bell ring. Lunch time. I make my way to the cafeteria and grabs something to eat.

"Sasuke-teme! Over here!" I hear Naruto shout. I see Neji and Shikamaru already sitting at the table.

"Aren't you going to sit with Hinata?" I ask.

"She has choir practice today." Naruto replies before shoving a chopstick of noodles to his mouth.

"I see."

"How about you guys?" I ask Neji and Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru's still confuse whether he should ask Temari or Ino out. Tenten is doing something like a project." Naruto once again replies. I give him a confused look.

"Okay, so what are your plans later?" I ask.

"I'm going out with Hinata after school. Shikamaru's going to chess club and Neji 's going to help Tenten with her project."

"Dobe, why are you answering all the questions?"

"Because I can." Naruto replies, now drinking the soup out of the bowl. I sigh.

"Are you sure you're ok that your cousin is dating this guy, Neji?"

"I'm not even sure." says Neji, rolling his eyes

"Hey Shikamaru, so what's up with Ino and Temari?" asks Naruto. Shikamaru shrugs.

"I don't even want to talk about it."

"Heh, that's why I don't like girls. They're just a headache." I say.

"You just say that because you haven't talked to a girl yet." I see Neji and Shikamaru slowly smirk as Naruto continues to speak.

"Maybe you don't like girls because you don't find them attractive."

"You're right. I don't"

"You don't?" I see my friends' eyes all staring at me, shock can be seen in their eyes.I know where this is going.

"You mean you don't like girls because…. you like guys?...You secretly like one of us?" Naruto. I could rip his head off right now.

"Shut up dobe. I don't like guys neither."

"Prove it." I hear Neji say.

"Prove what?"

"Prove that you're straight."

"Why do I have to prove that?"

"Cause we want you to" says Naruto.

"Besides, we're graduating soon. You might as well find someone to date before prom." says Shikamaru

"Yeah, Shikamaru's right. You're the only one in our group that doesn't have a date for prom." Says Naruto.

"Shikamaru here doesn't have a date neither, and prom is like months away" I say.

"Shikamaru can choose between Ino and Temari. However, you, my friend, doesn't have any." says Neji, tapping my back.

"See that girl over there?" he asks.

"Where?"

"That girl with the glasses, eating an apple and reading a book." He points out the pink-haired girl. Sakura.

"What about her? Don't tell me you want me to ask her out." I say.

"That's what I'm telling you to do." He smirks at me.

"Hey, hey, wait! Why do teme have to ask that kind of girl. She's too….smart." I hear Naruto say. One of my nerve starts throbbing.

"What do you mean by that dobe?" I ask, gritting my teeth.

"I mean, she's hard to ask out. She's the kind of girl who puts her studies first"

"That's the point, idiot" says Shikamaru. "Sasuke here has to prove to us that he's straight and can ask any girl out."

"Oooohh. Gotcha."

"So what do you say Sasuke?" asks Neji.

"No."

"Okay, little miss—" another nerve throb.

"Fine." I say

"Good."

I walk from our table and goes to the pink-haired girl. I can feel the eyes of my friends at me, all of them smirking. As soon as the girl sees my shadow blocking the light, she looks up to me.

"Uhhh, may I help you?" she asks.

"Hey. Go out with me" I say. She just stares at me, eyes widen. I hear something fall from her table and sees the book that she was reading. The cover shows two guys hugging. My right eye twitch. Great. I asked a girl out to prove that I'm straight and yet here I am seeing the cover of her book. What have I gotten myself into?

**END**


	2. Chapter 2 The Phone

**Friends or More?**

**Chapter 2: The Phone**

I see her blush when she sees me staring at the book.

"Go out with me." I repeat, pretending that I didn't see the cover.

"Um…I'm sorry but what?" she stares at me like an innocent child. I can feel another nerve about to throb again. Is this girl deaf? I've already said it twice. Does she have to be so annoying?

"Go out with-"

_RRIIIIINNNGG_

The heck? The bell already? I look at her as she grabs the book that fell and stands up. She gives me this apologetic smile and goes outside the cafeteria.

What was that? Did she just leave me here without even hearing me out? That girl. I knew this was a bad idea.

I went to the rest of my class. Sakura is not in them. A few more minutes and it's English time. I've been waiting for this class to come since lunch time to confront that pink girl about her leaving me in the cafeteria.

_RRIIIIIIIIINNNGG_

Finally! I walk to my English room as fast as I can, which is not that fast considering that I don't really care whether I'm late or not. I see Sakura sit in the side of the room beside the window. She stares outside the window and smiles. Hmm, she has a nice smile. I walk up to her and sit beside her. She doesn't notice me and keeps on staring outside the window.

_RRIIIIIIINNG_

I look up front and see something written on the board. It says that our teacher is in a meeting and that we should continue writing our essay. Pssh, as if someone will do that during this period. I see a guy in the corner of my eye staring at me, frowning. He has these wide eyes and a bowl-shaped haircut. I think his name is Lee. I heard that he has a crush on Sakura for a long time and has been asking her out since they were in elementary. I guess he's glaring at me now because I stole his seat.

"Hey Lee, I just remem-Oh" I hear the girl beside me say. She looks at me with a surprised face. I stare at her emerald eyes. Green eyes. Nice. It's…cute. Too bad it's covered with those glasses of hers. As soon as she realizes that I'm not the guy who she thought I was, she immediately faces front, bows her head and pretends to write something.

"Hey." I say.

"Umm…hey" she continues to write

"What are you doing?"

"Uh, doing my essay" she keeps on avoiding looking at me.

"Really? You're doing that right now?"

"Yeah, it says so on the board"

"Funny. Last time I checked, English essays don't have any numbers in it or any formulas." I say as I see chemical equations on her notebook. She sighs and let go of her pen.

"Fine. You caught me there. I'm actually done with my English essay and I bet that's what you want, isn't it? Let me get it for you. Just don't copy everything." She grabs her gray bag and starts rummaging through it.

"Whoa, whoa. Who told you I want your essay?" I grab her arm which makes her stop what she was doing.

"Well that's what everyone is doing right? Wait for me to finish and just copy from me. " I can see some frustration from her face.

"No, that's not why I'm talking to you." She finally looks up to me.

"Oh, um…I'm sorry. I was just I…" she couldn't continue what she's saying.

"Sa-ku-ra!" we hear two girls call. I see Mira and Rei from Chemistry class walking towards us.

"Hi Sasuke!" they both greet me

"Hn"

"Hey Sakura, can we borrow your essay? We don't really know what to do" Mira says

"Yeah, we're totally confused. I mean who would rather listen to his enemy than his friend. Honestly, that's just wrong." Rei says

"Tan didn't listen to Kim because he already knows that Kim betrayed him." Sakura explains as she hands her essay to them.

"Oh, we didn't know that" Mira says

"Our teacher discussed it last week. She told us Kim betrayed Tan because he was jealous of him."

"Really? We must have missed it." Rei says. I see Sakura slightly roll her eyes.

"I guess so. Um…just don't copy word per word. Try to rephrase it."

"Sure do. We'll return it as soon as we can." Mira says and both girls walk to their proper seats. I see Sakura continuing doing her Chemistry assignment.

"So is that an everyday thing?" I ask

"Huh? Oh, um, I guess so." She whispers.

"You know you should learn to stand up to them." I say. She continues to stay quiet.

"I thi—"

"Are you done with your essay?" She cut me off.

"No. I haven't done it yet" I reply.

"If you don't want my essay, then that means you need me to help you with something else. So what is it?" she asks, her eyes still staring at her notebook.

"I want you to go out with me." I say. She stops. Guess I caught her there. She slowly turns her head to face me.

"I'm sorry." She says.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I'm not interested in boys right now." She stares at me then…

_RRRIIIINNNNGG_

"I have to go." She says and grabs her stuff.

"Wait. Sak—" she walks out of the room, her pink hair masked by the other students.

I grab my bag and walk to my locker.

"Yo teme, how'd it go?" someone slap me on the back.

"Hn"

"Don't tell me you haven't asked her out yet." I can feel that he's about to laugh at me.

"I did."

"Oh, so what's she day?"

"She's not interested." I plainly replied.

"What? Haha. Sasuke Uchiha dumped by a girl. That's new." The dobe is now completely laughing.

"Well, good luck with her. I have to go on a date with Hinata-chan, you know, my girlfriend." Naruto says, obviously teasing me. I stop the urge of punching him on the face. He pats my shoulder and walks away from me.

I decided to go to the park today where nobody can see me and stay there for a while. I sit on the bench and just stare at the clouds. I suddenly hear something behind the tree beside me. That's weird. I was sure nobody was here. I walk to the tree and look on the other side, only to see Sakura again. What the heck is she doing here?

"Hey you." I call and she jumps.

"Oh my goodness! You scared me!" she says as she turns around to look at me.

"You again? Sasuke, are you following me?" I stare at her. That's the first time I hear her say my name.

"No."

"Look, if you're still going to ask me, I—"

"Do you have a crush on somebody else?" I ask out of nowhere. I don't have any idea why I asked that. It just came off of me.

"Uh, excuse me?" I guess this girl is really deaf.

"Do you have a crush on anyone?" I repeat.

"Crush? Well…Uh…I…" she's stuttering. I can see her starting to blush.

"Well?"

"Um..yeah, I do but that doesn't matter."

"So it doesn't matter if I go out with you?"

"I…I can't. I have more important things to do. I'm sorry." She bows her head.

"Right. Okay, see you." I say and left her alone in the park.

* * *

It's been three days since I asked Sakura out. I'm still at point zero. But I think I made some progress. I've been sitting beside her during English and Chemistry class and talking to her. She completely doesn't have any interest in dating guys right now. I have to change that.

I'm in Chemistry class right now. Our chemistry teacher hands out our previous quizzes. I see Sakura flash a contented smile when she saw her grade. I look at mine. D. That's a decent grade. Hmm…what if I ask Sakura to tutor me so I can be closer to her? Or….? I smile. I've got an idea. This should definitely work.

* * *

Lunch time is almost over. I told Naruto and the guys that I have to do something. I walk in the hallway in search of Sakura. I see her putting something in her locker.

"Oi! Sakura!" I call.

"Hey Sasuke."

"Hey, I need your help." I say

"Help? With what?" she gives me a confused look. I show her my chemistry quiz.

"Oh. Chemistry."

"Yeah. So, can you meet up with me after school at the library?"

"I—"

_RRIIIIIINNNGGG_

Just in time. I smirk as Sakura closes her locker and gives me an apologetic smile again. She walks as fast as she can. I press a button on my phone and say something. I call out to her.

"So Sakura, will you?" I shout. I see her look back at me.

"Yeah. Sure. I'll be glad to." She shouts back.

I press the same button again and walk to my class, the smirk still on my face.

* * *

Classes are over, time for me to go to the library. I can already see Sakura's pink hair outside the door. I can also see two girls with her. Mira and Rei.

"Sakura, about the chemistry assignment, can we see yours?" I hear one of the girls ask.

"Su—"

"Hey, what's up" I say, cutting Sakura off.

"Hi Sasuke" both girls greet.

"We were just asking Sakura about our chemistry assignment." says Mira

"I see. You're just asking right? Not copying or anything?" I see both girls stop for a second to think and I can see embarrassment all over their face.

"Um...well, we don't quite understand the formulas and we're hoping to just, you know, copy the answers and figure it out later." says Rei

"Pretty tough for you guys huh?" I say

"Exactly!" the embarrassment vanishes as their faces lit up.

"Finally, someone who understands us." Says Mira.

"I guess it's pretty tough to Sakura too" I look at Sakura, who is bowing her head. Again.

"I guess so. But she's smart, so I think she's okay with it" says Mira.

"Well her boyfriend is not fine with it." As soon as I say these words, all of the girls stare at me with their widen eyes.

"Sakura! You have a boyrfriend? Who? When? How?" asks Rei, obviously not believing what she heard.

"I...I-i-iit's not..Nnn—" I cut Sakura once again.

"It's me." I say and put my arms around Sakura's shoulders. She immediately blushes while Mira and Rei just gapes at us.

"Nnnoo! We—we're not—"

"You heard me. I don't like you guys copying homeworks from my girlfriend. It's not fair." I say

"B-but when did you guys…?" asks Mira

"Just a while ago. Took me long to make her say yes." I smirk. I can see that the girls are not believing me so I kiss Sakura's hair to make it more real. Sakura, on the other hand, is blushing so bad that I think she's going to faint soon.

"Um…hey, Mira, I just remembered, I have to go to this store." Says Rei, looking at her bestfriend, hiding once again their embarrassment.

"Oh yeah, the one with the pastries." Says Mira. They both look at us and give us a nervous smiles and walks away.

As soon as they left, Sakura pushed me gently.

"W-w-what was that all about?" she glares at me, her face still red.

"We're a couple now, right?" I say.

"No, we're not." She continues to glare.

"Oh yes we are." I smirk.

"Since when?"

"Since lunch time." I say and she stares at me with confused eyes.

"I don't remember saying anything to you."

"Here, let me refresh your mind." I say as I get my phone out of my pocket and press a button. We hear my voice from my phone saying, "So Sakura, will you go out with me and be my girlfriend?" then steps from the other students. "So Sakura, will you?" My voice is louder since I shouted. Then we hear a female voice saying "Yeah. Sure. I'll be glad to". There's no questioning that it's Sakura's voice. She just stares at me, in shock, almost gaping. I slowly smile.

"You…you…That's not how it works! You tricked me!"

"True, but it doesn't change the fact that you said yes."

"But I wasn't answering that question."

"That doesn't matter. Besides, it's too late for you to back down now. With Mira and Rei knowing that we're dating, it will take a few hours until everyone in the school hear the news. Also, do you think I'll let you dump me after everyone knows that we're together?" I say. She frowned.

"Then tell them you dumped me." She says

"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea." I say

"And why not?"

"Because once I dump you, people will start talking behind your back. They will call you names and maybe, possibly, bully you. And I'm too good of a person to do that to you." I plainly say.

"I hate you." She's now glaring at me. I just smile at her. This is quite fun.

"That's an improvement." I grab her hand and walks towards the exit. She stands still. I look at her.

"What's the problem? Want me to carry you or something?"

"Ha, as if you could do that" She says, raising her glasses up, challenging me.

"Fine. If that's what you want." I let go of her hand and walk up to her. Her eyes widen, realizing that I've taken the challenge.

"Okay okay, I'll walk. No need to carry me." Her face starts to blush again. I give a small chuckle inside my head. I grab her hand once again. I feel her resisting but I hold her with a firm grip. Then we both walk out of the school together.

**END**


	3. Chapter 3 The Date

**A/N: **Sorry for making you guys wait. I've been working left and right and yeah, I was pretty tired the whole week. Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter.

**Friends or More?**

**Chapter 3: Dating**

It's been almost a month now since Sakura and I've been together. Nothing interesting happened yet. I just do what boyfriends usually do since that's what everyone expects me to do. Meet her every class break at her locker. Stare at her until she turns away, which I find kind of…cute. I would hold her hands once in a while when she's off guard cause I find that she's not into holding hands. I will eat lunch with her every other day, depends on her schedule. We also walk home together, after finding out that our houses are close.

People also learned about our relationship the day after we told Mira and Rei, just as I predicted. Most people are not cool with it, especially girls and Lee, one of Sakura's childhood friends. He keeps on giving me the stare with his creepy eyes whenever he gets the chance, which is every English class. Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru all gave me a pat on the back for succeeding in asking Sakura out. They were surprised and proud of me when I told them how I made her date me. Now, they told me that all I have to do is keep this relationship going until graduation. It's up to me if I want to break up with her after that. I'll probably end up breaking up with her as soon as graduation ends. I don't think I can stand girls too long. I just need to prove to these guys that I can date one. I guess I can keep this relationship going by doing the usual things. Dates. Kisses. Prom. Then that's it. Speaking of dates, I should ask her out this Friday night to go watch a movie or something. We haven't been on any date yet. She's too "busy" with all of her school works.

"Hey Sakura" I whisper beside her. The teacher is in front of us discussing how organic molecules are drawn.

"Hmm?" she just stares up front and continue to write notes.

"Wanna hang out tomorrow night?" I ask. She turns her head and looks at me. She gives me a sweet smile and I smile back. Then she frowns and said, "No". I stare at her, surprised. In my head, I am gaping. What the heck? Did she just do that to me? She continues to write notes and ignores me for the rest of the class.

I wait until after English class to ask her again.

"Sakura, about tomorrow…" I began to say. Before I could continue, Lee walks up beside Sakura.

"Sakura, so tomorrow after class?" he asks. Sakura smiles at him and nods. "Sure thing Lee. I'll make sure I'll be there." Lee gives her this big smile and is practically skipping, going out of the room.

"What was that all about?" I ask her, slightly annoyed.

"Oh, Sasuke. Sorry. What were you saying?" she asks, grabbing her stuffs. I follow her out of the room and to her locker.

"What's up with you and Lee? Aren't we already dating?"

"Are we now? Last time I checked, were haven't had a date." She says. What's up with this girl? When I asked her out, I thought she's going to be this shy, nice girl. Easy to date. Now, she's like a completely different person.

"I asked you out this morning. You said no. What's wrong with you?" I slightly raised my voice. She looks at me, obviously seeing my annoyance.

"Well sorry I said no. You asked me if I want to hang out tomorrow night and I can't."

"Why not?"

"I have to do something with Lee." She puts her books inside the locker.

"Lee again. What's with you and him?" I make her stop by closing her locker door. She glares at me.

"Why are you acting this way? Lee and I are childhood friends. He's been with me for years. While you, you've been with me for like what? A few weeks. I don't see any reason why I can't go and do something with Lee." I can see that she's mad now. I don't know why I'm acting this way. It's not like I really like her. I guess it's automatic for a boyfriend to feel jealous of the other guys that has an interest on his girlfriend. It's just an automatic response.

"Look, this isn't working out. We're dating and you can't just hang out with any guy you want, especially Lee since he has been crushing on you for forever." I say.

"If this isn't working out, then why don't you just break up with me." She opens her locker.

"I can't do that. I-" I hear her sigh. Her voice lowers.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm having a bad day right now. If this isn't working out, you can just leave me and pretend that nothing happened. I'm sorry if I can't keep up with your expectations. I don't know how this dating stuff works. All of this is new to me. I have my own problems now and I don't think I can keep up with this relationship stuff." She then closes her locker.

"Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go somewhere." I let her walk away while I stand here, looking at her back. I decided to wait outside the school for her and talk to her again. As I am about to go to the exit, I hear Mr. Sanders calling my name.

"Sasuke, have you seen Sakura?" he asks.

"She said she has to go somewhere. Maybe club stuff." I reply.

"Good. Good. She must be going to Techno club. Say, one of our members left the club and we've been looking for someone to take Kate's place. I've seen Lee and Sakura stressing about Kate's absence. She was one of the best editors in our club."

Oh. That's why Sakura was in a bad mood.

"What do you say Sasuke? Want to join our club?" I think for a minute. I guess I could.

"Sure. Why not." Mr. Sanders gives me a smile and motions me to follow him.

We enter the computer lab. There's only two people in the room. Sakura and Lee.

"Where's everyone else?" I ask.

"Somewhere. We don't really have a meeting today. We're just finishing the upcoming video for next week. Lee and Sakura here are the president and vice-president of this club." I see Sakura staring at us. She has this confused look. We walk to their direction.

"Sakura, Lee. Sasuke, here, decided to join our club. Be good to him now. I have a faculty meeting to attend to. So, see you guys." says Mr. Sanders and goes out of the room. Sakura immediately drags me to other side of the room while Lee continues to edit the video.

"Are you trying to do something or what?" Sakura angrily whispers at me. I just look at her.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Why are you here? I bet you don't even have editing skills. If you're just trying to make Lee and—" I didn't let her finish.

"Look, Mr. Sanders was the one who asked me to join the club. I didn't volunteer, so don't think I joined this club for you or anything." I say and I can see that I have hurt her a little. I kind of lied since I did join this club to be closer to her.

"Fine. Let's see if you can do some editing stuff." She says and leads me to a computer.

"I'll go check Lee and help him with something. Just call me when you're done or need anything."

I look at her as she walks to Lee and his computer. I stare at mine. So, I just need to edit a short movie. No problem. This will be easy. I worked on the movie for an hour and then called Sakura to show her.

"Hmmm…Not bad. It's actually good." She says to me. Shen then looks at her watch.

"Hey Lee, why don't we call it a day? It's kind of getting late. I still have some homeworks to do." Lee looks at her and just nodded. We say our goodbyes and leave the room. I see Sakura going to her locker and follow her.

"Hey, about a while ago…" She continues to get some books from her locker.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I was just…in a bad mood."

"I know"

"But I did mean what I said. If you want to break up, that's fine with me."

"I don't want to break up." I say and she stops and look at me with surprised eyes. Now, I got her attention. Good.

"Look, I just want to ask you out on a date. When will you be available?" I ask

"I can't…I…"

"Are you trying to avoid having a date with me or what? I know you have something to do with Lee tomorrow night so, how about Saturday night?"

"Um…uh…I have so—"

"C'mon Sakura. If you have something to do this Saturday then we can have a date on Sunday. I can wait." She sighs. I wait for her to say something.

"Saturday night is fine. Let's meet at the park at 7?" She says. I look at her.

"Don't you want me to pick you up? I'll go bring a car and—"

"No. No. It's okay. We can just meet at the park and then walk our way to someplace. I like walking."

I continue to look at her. "You sure?"

"Yes. Positive."

"At least let me pick you up from your house and we can walk together." I can see a little tint of blush on her cheeks. What a really strange girl. Just a while ago she was mad, and then now she's back to her shy-girl mode. "Okay." I hear her say.

"Hn, let's go home." I grab her hand and she pulls back. I stare at her and she stares back.

"Why do you hate holding hands?" I ask.

"I don't hate it. It's just that I'm not used to it." She replies.

"How can you be used to it if we don't hold hands often. Here, why don't you grab my hand instead of me grabbing yours" I say and put my hand in front of her to take.

"How about no?" She says as she looks at my hand then at me.

"Why not?"

"I don't know." Okay, this girl really has problems.

"What do you mean you don't know?" I ask. This girl is annoying.

"Uh…look, you can grab my hand to hold hands but I can't go grab yours. Because once I do grab your hand, it means that I love you, and I'm pretty sure I don't love you." Wow...That was pretty straightforward.

"Um, okay" I say and grab her hand. I have no idea what she just meant but okay. We start to walk towards home.

"I know you don't know what I meant." Wow. This girl can read minds too.

"I just read that there are different signs that people show that they love someone instead of saying 'I love you'. They show it through kisses, hugs, buying stuffs and such. So for me, I can really say and show I love someone when I grab their hand to hold hands." She explains.

"Why not just say the words 'I love you'? You people make it so difficult." I say.

"It's easy to say 'I love you'. People can lie too you know. I rather people tell me the truth than lie. I hate it when people lie to me." She has a point. I don't really like when people lie to me too. Saying 'I love you' when you don't mean it is not cool. It's not me. I only say those words when I really mean it.

We continue to walk until we reach her house then I walk a block away to my house.

* * *

It's Saturday now. 6:50 in the evening. I'm standing outside of Sakura's house. I ring the bell. After a minute or so, she opens the door.

"Hey" I say. She's wearing jeans and a shirt, her pink hair in a ponytail.

"Hey" She says and closes the door. I continue to stare at her.

"What? Were you expecting something more fashionable?" she asks when she notices me staring at her clothes.

"To be honest, yeah. I thought maybe you will wear a dress and we can go to a fancy dinner. Don't you girls like those things?" I ask as we begin to walk to downtown.

"Not me. I'm not into those stuffs. I prefer walking and eating fast food than some fancy mancy stuffs." She says.

"Okay, so where do you want to go?"

"Hmm…I don't know."

"I don't know where to go neither" I say. We continue to walk to downtown in silence.

"I know where to go!" She stops and gives me a smile.

"Where?"

"To the library!" I see myself sitting in front of a table and sleeping while Sakura reads happily. I just stare at her with this dumb-founded face. Seriously, who wants to go to a library on their first date?

"I was just kidding!" She laughs and I stare at her.

"You could have seen your face!" She continues to laugh. She has a nice laugh.

"Anyway, why don't we eat first? I'm kind of hungry. Then we can go watch a movie or something. Do karaoke or arcade."

"Sounds good."

"Oohhh. We could also drop to a bookstore. I've been waiting to read this book and I want to buy it." As soon as she says this, I remember the cover of the book she was reading when I first asked her out.

"So…is it a romance book or something? Girl likes boy and boy likes girl? Nothing out of the ordinary?" I ask

"Huh? Yeah, something like that, with a mystery on it." She says. I can see she's a little confused when I asked her this. Then I see realization coming to her face.

"Oh….OH! Yeah, about what you saw at the cafeteria. It was the first time I read one of those. It was actually pretty good." She smiles.

"Okay, I'm not gonna ask." I say.

* * *

After reaching downtown, we went to eat, then watched a movie, went to buy her book and went to the arcade. Nothing special really happened but I did have fun. And before we know it, it's already midnight. We're now standing outside of her house.

"Where are your parents? Most of the lights are off." I ask.

"Oh. They left for a trip. They went to visit my uncle." She replies.

"Oh, so…uhh. Tonight was fun." I say as she search for her keys in her bag.

"Yeah. Thanks for tonight. It was really fun. Too bad we didn't win anything at the arcade." She laughs.

"You have a nice laugh." I suddenly say out of nowhere. I don't know why I said it. It just came out of my mouth. She stops and blushes.

"Uh…thanks. So…um…this is goodnight." She smiles, still blushing.

"Yeah, goodnight." I say. I raise my hand and cup her left cheek. I inch closer to her. I see her eyes widen. I close my eyes and is about to kiss her when I feel a sharp pain on my stomach.

"What the he—?!" I wince in pain.

"Oh my gosh. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I hear panic in her voice.

"Why'd you hit me?" Uggh..She hit really hard. I'll probably get a bruise.

"Y-y-you were about to kiss me!" She stutters.

"Of course I was about to kiss you! That's how a date ends!" I say.

"I know! But I didn't really expect...I mean I wasn't…Uugh, I'm sorry." She bows her head. Heh, this is to funny. When I look at her again, she's gaping.

"What?" I ask.

"You…you just laughed." She says, surprised. Hmm, I guess I did. I didn't realize I was laughing out loud.

"So?"

"You don't usually laugh. I mean you barely laugh. Not to be mean or anything, but I really thought you have a health problem where you can't laugh. Like, you know, in SpongeBob Squarepants." I laugh once again. I can hear myself. This is getting better and better. She really is something.

"You have a nice laugh too" I hear her say and I stop.

"Uhh…thanks." Silence.

"Um…sorry again."

"It's okay."

"I haven't, you know, kissed anyone yet and I—" I didn't let her finish. I hug her.

"Would this work?" I ask.

"Yeah. Uh…thank you…for tonight" she says and hugs back. She's blushing really hard. We let go of each other. I wait for her to enter the house before leaving.

I don't know why I suddenly hugged her but it was a good move. I don't want to force myself unto her. If I did, we'll probably break up before graduation which is not part of my plan. I need to prove to those guys that I can have a proper relationship with anyone, even if I have to deal with Sakura's weirdness. This will be one heck of a year.

**END**


	4. Chapter 4 The Snow Rain

**Friends or More?**

**Chapter 4: The Snow Rain**

"Sasuke!" I hear Sakura calling out my name.

"Sasuke! Wait up!" I turn around and see her waving her hand and running up to me. I wait for her to catch up. As soon as she does, she gives me a piece of paper.

"What's this?"

"Registration form." She pants.

"For what?"

"For the trip next month. You know, the one Mr. Sanders' been talking about. The Techno club is having a workshop for 3 days."

"Oh. Ok. When is the workshop?" I ask and she gives me a look that simply says 'seriously?'

"I mean I know it's next month but what are the dates?" She sighs.

"It's from December 13-15"

"Ok. Cool. Thanks"

"Ya, no problem. You're going to the workshop right?" she asks. I give her a shrug.

"Um, okay. If you are, give the form to Mr. Sanders. See you after school!" She shouts as she runs to the other direction.

I can't help but smile as I look at her running figure. Our relationship has been good so far. As much as I don't want to admit it, I actually like her company. We have gone into quite a few dates, more than I expected, considering the fact she is so busy with her university applications. I still don't know what to do after high school. I have received an e-mail from this one clothing company, asking if I want to model for them after seeing my pictures online. Even after rejecting their offer, they told me to contact them if I ever change my mind. Heh, as if I'll change my mind.

As I walk myself to the cafeteria, I can't help but have second thoughts whether I should go to the workshop or not. I mean I don't want to spend 3 days with people I barely know, but then again, I can spend more time with Sakura. But that means I also have to spend time with that jealous bushy eyebrows friend of hers. Maybe I should just skip this workshop. It's not like I'm going to miss a lot. I've been spending a lot of time with Sakura for the past 2 months already. I guess I won't go.

Once I enter the cafeteria, I hear someone calling my name. That idiot. Does he always have to shout?

"Oiiii Sasuke! Over here!" Naruto calls out, waving his hand. I make my way to their table.

"Where's Shikamaru?" I ask when I see only Neji and Naruto at the table.

"He's somewhere with Kiba and Chouji. Something to do with a project." Neji replies before taking a bite on his sandwich.

"Oh. Okay. I'm just going to grab something to eat."

"Grab me another slice of bread when you come back!" Naruto shouts at me. I shake my head. He owes me more than 10 dollars now with all the extra food he'd been asking me since the start of school. I don't really mind, but that dobe should know that I'm not a free food machine.

I take a 6-inch ham sub with extra tomato and a can of coke. When I return to the table, Shikamaru, together with Kiba and Chouji, are already sitting at the table.

"Sup?" I ask as I sit beside Neji, with Naruto across from me.

"Nothing much. Busy doing a project for physics" Shikamaru says as he writes formulas on a notebook.

"Ahh" I start eating my lunch.

"So…Sasuke, how are you and Sakura been doing?" Kiba suddenly ask, smirking at me like I have a dirty little secret. All guys turn on me.

"Good," I casually reply.

"What do you mean by good?" Shikamaru asks.

"Good as in we've been to dates and been doing well."

"C'mon man. You know what we mean. Tell us everything. Did you guys already…you know…?" Kiba asks, giving me a look that says 'tell us every detail'. Neji and Shikamaru are smirking while Chouji is staring at me, curiosity can clearly be seen in his eyes. Naruto, on the other hand, was blushing furiously. I think he's going to have a nosebleed any time soon.

"What makes you think we already did it?" I continue eating my sandwich. Kiba's eyes widen.

"You mean you haven't done it yet? You guys have been dating for almost 3 months!"

"So?"

"You are one patient man my friend."

"What do you mean? I'm only dating her because of you guys. I won't sleep with her then dump her after that. I won't go that far. Besides, why are you asking me this? Naruto here has a girlfriend too. We both had a girlfriend at the same time. Why don't you ask him?" I say, making Naruto stop eating his ramen. He blushes once again and in the corner of my eye, I see Neji giving Naruto a glare.

"W-w-we-well, we haven't done it. I know Hinata-chan is not ready and I understand that. I can wait. It's not all about the physical stuff you know." Naruto says, taking a big gulp out of his bowl.

"At least we've kissed. That's for sure" With this statement, everyone's eyes turn from Naruto to me. All eyes are asking the same question, 'Have you kissed her yet Sasuke?'. I shake my head.

"What?!" This time it's Chouji who said something.

"Dude, you have to make a move." Kiba says.

"At least kiss her." Neji says. "But don't force her. You have to get her in the mood." He continues.

How the heck can I make Sakura get in the mood when the simple act of holding hands makes her uncomfortable? Of course, I don't tell this fact to the guys or else they'll think she's some weird girl with some weird mental issues.

"You know what, it's not enough proof you're not into us if you just date a girl. You have to kiss her too Sasuke." Shikamaru says.

"What if I don't want to kiss her?" I ask.

"That's impossible. Sakura-chan is a girl and you're a guy. Most guys will do anything to kiss a girl….I know! I challenge you to kiss Sakura-chan! That way you'll definitely kiss her" Naruto says, smiling from ear to ear.

"What makes you think I'll kiss her just because you challenged me?"

"Dude, we all know you. You're Sasuke Uchiha. If someone challenges you, you'll accept the challenge whether you like it or not." That Shikamaru. He's right.

"Whatever." I say as I finish my sub and drink from my can of coke.

"So you'll do it then?" Chouji asks. I give him a slight nod, earning howls and laughter from the guys.

I guess I have to go to that techno workshop. I can't just randomly kiss her. The workshop is the only good opportunity I can think of to kiss her since she told me we can't go on dates for a few weeks. Sigh. I don't even know why I'm doing this. Oh well.

* * *

3 weeks have passed. I am now walking my way towards the school bus which will take the techno club to the location of the workshop. Sakura is right behind me, talking to Lee. I make my way towards the second to the back of the bus and sit beside the window. I hear Sakura talk excitedly to Lee about something and they sit across from me. Before I could ask Sakura to sit beside me, one of the second-year students, Mayu, sat beside me.

"Hi Sasuke-kun!" Mayu greets me with a huge smile on her face.

"Hey"

"How are you? Are you excited for the workshop?"

"Hn."

"Did you know that we're going to have a free day after the workshop? I am so excited for it!" Mayu grabs a notebook from her bag and starts to scribble down notes.

"You see I have a list here to buy. Sara just asked me this morning to buy something for her so I have to write it down so I won't forget." Mayu continues to talk, not noticing my 'not-interested' face.

"Um…where is Sasuke?" I hear Sakura as she looks around the bus. Finally! I don't think she would have realized that I'm not with her if the bus hadn't moved forward. I see Lee whisper to Sakura and she looks right at me. She sees Mayu talking beside me and then she looks at me again. I gave her an annoyed look and she gave me a questioning look in return. She then shrugs and continues to talk to Lee. That girl. Why do I even bother with her? I just can't stand her some times.

"Hey Sasuke-kun, so um…do you plan on buying anything? Do you like anything in particular? I mean not that I'm interested." I hear Mayu ask. I see a little tinge of red on her cheeks. Hmm. This girl probably has a crush on me. I think.

"Nothing in particular. I like black and blue stuff I guess." I reply. I see Sakura looking at us every once in a while in the corner of my eye. I ignore her looks since she seems to be having fun talking to Lee, who is clearly smiling from ear to ear.

"Really? I also li—"

"Hey Mayu" I say. Mayu stops what she was saying and looks at me.

"I'm going to sleep for a while. This roadtrip is going to be long. I need some rest. I wasn't able to sleep properly last night."

"Oh. Okay Sasuke-kun." She says, blushing a little bit.

"If you want me to move-"

"Nah, you're fine. Do whatever you like." I say as I close my eyes.

* * *

I flutter my eyes as I wake up. I feel my shoulder going numb. Mayu must have fallen asleep as well. I look beside me and to my surprise, I see strands of pink hair. Sakura is peacefully sleeping with her head on my shoulder. I see Mayu across from me, also sleeping with Lee beside her. Lee is now giving me a jealous look. I smirk. I look at Sakura. Most of her pink hair is covering her face. Her hair has grown long. Its length is now above her waist. I use my right hand to put them behind her ear. She stirs a little bit. She smells like a garden. She smells like flowers. I then look at her closed eyes. Her glasses are just sitting on the bridge of her nose. Before I realize what I am doing, I remove her glasses and just stare at her. Her eyes slowly flutter and her bright emerald eyes stare back at me. I feel my world stop for a moment. Those eyes. So…beautiful.

"Sasuke?" I hear her say, "What's the matter? Is there something wrong?"

I snap myself out of my trance. "Oh, uh. No. Uh, why are you sitting beside me?" Such a stupid question to ask. Seriously, we just woke up and that's the best thing I can say? Ugh. I give her her glasses and she puts it on.

"Oh. I felt bad not sitting beside you. I was really planning to sit beside you before the bus starts but I was so caught in with my conversation with Lee that I kinda forgot about my plan. Before I knew it, you were sitting beside Mayu." She says as she now looks at the sleeping Mayu.

"I asked her to switch seats with me. Lee said that I shouldn't bother and that you look like you don't mind seating with Mayu but to be honest, I know you would rather sit with me right?" She gives me a wink and smiles at me teasingly. Weird. This is not like Sakura.

"Who are you and what have you done to my girlfriend?" I stare at her and she suddenly blushed. I chuckle.

"What's wrong? Why so quiet? Where's the flirty winks and smiles?" I smirk.

"Flirty winks and smiles? I wasn't flirting. I was just teasing." She says as her face gets redder and redder.

"It's so weird hearing you say the word 'girlfriend'." I hear her say.

"Well, you are my girlfriend right? I mean we've been dating for 3 months."

"Um. I guess so." She says. Before I could say anything else, the bus stops. I hear the bus driver say, "We're here." Everyone shuffle to get their bags and get out of the bus. There are probably 13 of us from our school. I wonder how many people are coming to this workshop.

"C'mon Sasuke. We have to go to our rooms."

Sakura called as she makes her way out of the bus.

"Are we going to share a room?" I ask once I'm outside of the bus. I feel someone purposely bump me on my shoulders.

"Ah, sorry Sasuke. I didn't mean it." I see bushy brows looking at me like he wants to strangle me. I look back and shrugs.

"No Sasuke. We're not sharing a room. I think I'm sharing with Mayu. That's what Mr. Sanders said. He wants me to teach Mayu some editing techniques since we're going to graduate this year."

"Hn. 'Kay. Who am I sharing a room with?" I ask.

"I don't know. I—"

"You, Mr. Uchiha is sharing a room with Mr. Ren." I hear Mr. Sanders' voice behind me. "Now, hurry along. We're already late."

* * *

The workshop isn't that bad. I actually enjoy it. However, Sakura, being the president of the club, have been spending most of her time with Lee, the vice-president, and Mr. Sanders. I don't really mind...I guess...Okay, I do mind. But I know it's all for the club. Anyway, it's the second and last night of the workshop and I still haven't managed to kiss Sakura. I could probably get the chance to kiss her on our free day. I plan on spending the day with her.

We just finished our dinner tonight and Shinji, a.k.a. 'Mr. Ren', and I make our way to our room. Shinji is a third-year student and seems to be a cool guy. Sharing a room with him is not as bad as I expected.

"Quite a storm tonight isn't it?" Shinji says as he opens the door to our room.

"Yeah. It's going to be a sunny day tomorrow though" I reply.

"Better be. I want to look around the city." Shinji says, sprawling himself on top of his bed.

"Can you pass me the remote control? I want to watch a movie." I grab the remote control and throws it to Shinji. He turns on the tv as I change my shirt. There is a buzzing sound.

"Ugh, such a crappy signal. I guess I should have known especially with this storm slash blizzard. It looks like it's snowing at the same time raining. Weird." says Shinji, now looking outside the window.

"Oi. Isn't that Sakura?" I hear him say, grabbing my attention.

"What?" I make my way to the window.

"It's Sakura. She's with someone. She's with…wait…" Shinji wipes the window.

"I think she's with Lee. What are they doing outside with this weather? It's cold. By the way, aren't you dating Sakura? It seems like Lee is—" I didn't let Shinji finish. I grab my jacket and stormed out of the room. I make my way outside of the building. I see Lee and Sakura laughing near a bus stop. Lee is carrying a bag that looks like it's from a convenience store. I feel the cold snow rain against my hair and skin. I ignore the cold and crosses the road in fury. Before I know it, my knuckle made contact with Lee's cheek. I hear Sakura scream.

"Sasuke! What are you doing? Oh my gosh Lee! Are you alright?" Sakura crouches down, looking at Lee whose cheek is all red. Lee stands up with the help of Sakura.

"What is wrong with you? What did you do that for?" Sakura shouts. I didn't say anything. I stare at her, huffing and puffing. I don't know why I punched bushy-brows. He just got into my nerves. Sakura glares at me.

"C'mon Lee. Let's go. I—" Sakura grabs the plastic bag from Lee, who is now having trouble walking straight, and walks towards the pedestrian lane.

"Stay." I say. Sakura turns around, "What?"

"I said stay." I repeat.

"You can't tell me what to do, especially after what you did." She spat, anger can be clearly seen in her eyes. I stare back at her, glaring as well. The snow rain continues to fall.

"Sakura-chan…" Sakura looks at Lee who is now tugging the plastic bag from Sakura.

"Lee, no. I'll carry it for you—"

"No Sakura. You guys need to talk. I'm…I'm going to my room. Kira is probably waiting for his chips." Lee says and leaves me and Sakura soaking under the rain. Sakura turns and glares at me again.

"What? Are we going to have a glaring contest now?"

"Hn"

"Don't 'hn' me. Why did you punch Lee?!" she shouts.

"What do you think?!" I shout back.

"What do I think? Ha, don't tell me you're jealous. You know well that—"

"You're mine." I suddenly say, surprising both me and Sakura. Sakura scoffs.

"I'm yours? I don't belong to anyone. Yes, I'm your girlfriend but that doesn't mean I'm your property!"

"Shut up." I say, walking towards Sakura.

"No! I won't shut up. If this is how you'll react every time I'm with Lee, we better end thi—"

"I said shut up!" I shouted, now face to face with Sakura.

"Or what?!" she whispered angrily, still glaring. In less than a second, I grabbed the back of her head and pulled her towards me. Our lips touch. The world seems to stop again for a moment. I can taste the snow rain between us. I open my eyes and see Sakura, her eyes all wide. She starts to squirm after realizing what is happening. I don't let go of her. She continues to squirm. I then feel a stinging pain on the left side of my cheek.

"How dare you!" she gasps.

"What the heck? How dare you! You just slapped me after kissing you." I shout back.

"I told you I don't want that!"

"Right. As if anyone would believe that. Ever since we started dating, you're just pretending that you don't like me. You're just playing hard to get!" Sakura doesn't say anything. I know what I just said hurt her. I can't help it. I continue to talk. The words just flow out of my mouth. I don't know what I'm saying. Anger and jealousy are taking over me.

"You think something is wrong with me? Why don't you look at yourself? Trying to be miss goody-two shoes. You're not good at all. Even though you already have a boyfriend, you keep on hanging out and flirting with that bushy brows. How about that? I don't know why I even bother with you. Sometimes, you act like you're such a bi—" I stop myself. I've gone too far. Sakura, who is standing and was glaring at me, is now looking at me in shock.

"I…I didn't mean…" I quietly say, also in shock at myself.

"Forget it." She whispers, a pained look on her face. She turns around and walks away.

"Sakura." I call out but she just continues to walk. Dang it! I clench my fist, itching to punch something. Why did I say that? It's not supposed to end this way. I should have kissed her and she should have kissed back and that's it.

The snow rain continues to fall. I feel a stinging pain on my left cheek. I ignore the pain as I cross the road.

* * *

"Hey." Shinji shakes me awake. "It's almost time for breakfast. You can forget about what happened last night today. We can look around the city and buy stuff." I groan and sit up. I see Shinji putting on his shoes. It takes him a few seconds to put them on. "I'll see you downstairs," he says and closes the door.

I didn't tell Shinji what happened last night. After seeing my face, he knew that something bad happened. I brushed my teeth and washed my face and went downstairs. I see Shinji waiting in the living room of the hotel. We make our way outside the building. In the corner of my eye, I see Sakura together with none other than Lee. Lee is talking merrily to Sakura, who is staring at the pavement. I look at their direction and I think Sakura felt someone is looking at her 'cause she looks back at me. When our eyes met, I felt a pang in my stomach. It looks like she'd been crying. I want to go to her and apologize but as soon as I made a step, she quickly turned her head away.

**END**

**A/N:** Hey guys. Sorry it's been forever since I updated this story. I forgot both my username and password so I had to guess. I almost gave up but fortunately, all ended well. Sorry about the grammar and punctuations. I still get confused what words to use and stuff like that. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter :)


	5. Chapter 5 The Warmth of the Snow

**Friends or More?**

**Chapter 5: The Warmth of the Snow**

I never thought that not talking to Sakura will affect me so much. The guilt is killing me. It's been 3 days since the workshop and I haven't talked to her. I know I should apologize as soon as I could but my pride prevents me from doing it. People are now starting to notice that Sakura and I are ignoring each other. Some even asks me if we broke up. To answer that question, I don't really know. We haven't officially ended our relationship so I guess we're still together. It's a good thing that it's finals week though 'cause I'm able to divert my attention from Sakura. I just did my English test this morning and tomorrow I have my chemistry exam. I'm still a bit edgy on the subject. Since I'm not talking to Sakura and no one's helping me to study for it, writing the exam is the least thing I want to do tomorrow.

"Oi Sasuke!" I hear Naruto call out as the sound of the remaining students' shoes bustling out of the school fades away. I close my locker and look at the figure running towards me.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Nothing much. Look, I need help finding a Christmas gift for Hinata. I'm not quite sure what to get her. I was wondering if you can help me find something for her after our exams tomorrow. I can also help you find a gift for Sakura. We can help each other," I look at Naruto, thinking whether I should go with him.

"What makes you think I don't have a gift for Sakura yet?" I ask. Naruto gives me a big smile.

"C'mon Sasuke, it's pretty obvious you don't have anything for her yet. You guys haven't been talking to each other since you guys came back from that workshop of yours. I'm pretty sure that your big wall of pride prevents you from thinking of buying a Christmas gift for Sakura," I glare at the idiot. It's not that my pride is preventing me from buying a gift for Sakura. It's just that I don't know what to give her. I guess this dope can help me. If I want to continue my relationship with Sakura and keep part of my deal with the guys, I should go and buy something for her this Christmas.

"Hn. Fine. I'll meet you at the park at noon tomorrow after exams."

"Great. See ya!" Naruto gives me a pat at the back and runs off to the library. He's probably meeting Hinata there for a study group or something. I walk towards the exit of the building when I realized I forgot my bag inside my locker. That was stupid. How could I forget? *Sighs* Oh yeah, the idiot distracted me.

I walk again in the hallway where my locker is. The hallway is empty except for a pink-haired girl with glasses standing in front of my said locker. I stop for a moment. She's trying to put a folder full of paper inside. I walk towards her.

"What are you doing?" She jumps when she hears my voice, causing the folder to drop from her hand, scattering the papers on the floor.

"S-Sasuke! Oh, Uh…I…" Awkward silence. She kneels down and starts to pick up the papers. I kneel down beside her and help her.

"I-I wasn't sure if you already got out of school or not," Sakura says. I don't know what to say so I keep quiet.

"Our Chemistry exam is tomorrow. I know it's not your strongest subject and I know it's a little bit late, but I figured that I should probably lend you my notes for you to study…" She grabs the last piece of paper and puts it inside the folder. I stare at her, thinking if she's still mad at me or not. When she notices that I'm staring at her, a tinge of pink appears on her face.

"Here. A photocopy of my notes. Good luck." She shoves the folder to me, raises her glasses, and gives me a glare with her lips in a thin line. I guess she's still mad. She turns around and walks away from me. I stand on my spot, not really knowing if I should follow her or not. If I do follow her, what will I tell her? I shrug. It'll probably just be awkward. Might as well thank her next time I see her. I open my locker, grab my bag, and put the folder inside. With Sakura's notes, I guess I won't have any problems studying tonight.

* * *

"Oiii Sasuke! Over here!" Someone shouts, making me turn to the guy who is running his way to me.

"What took you so long dope?"

"My Physics test was hard dude, I tell ya. I don't know what Asuma-sensei was planning when he prepared that test."

"Everything is hard with you." I say as we walk towards downtown.

"As if! How about you? How's Chemistry? Studied enough?"

"It was okay, managed to answer tough questions. Sakura lent me a copy of her notes yesterday." Naruto stops on his tracks and gives me a pat at the back.

"So you guys all good now?" he asks.

"I don't know," I reply.

"C'mon Sasuke, in the end, you're gonna end up talking to her anyway. Why don't you get her a present?"

"That's why we're here dope."

"Oh yeah. Haha. Hey, I'm looking for a particular clothestore. Let's go there first. I saw Hinata checking out a dress there." Naruto walks ahead of me as I look around the streets, thinking of what to give Sakura.

Naruto and I have been walking around downtown for an hour and I still don't have anything for Sakura.

"Why don't you give her a book?" Naruto suggests. I look at him, trying to figure out if this guy is really the dope. I didn't expect something brilliant will come out of that mouth.

"Good idea," I say, "I think I saw a bookstore a block from here a while ago," I turn around, walking to the other direction.

"Wait Sasuke. Let me check this out first," Naruto says as he stops in front of a jewellery store. "I want to get Hinata a ring too."

"Dope, don't you think giving her a ring is too much? I mean, it's too soon. You're like proposing to her already," At this, Naruto blushes. I bet he's fantasizing himself wearing a tuxedo with Hinata as her bride.

"You know, that's not a bad idea. But I guess you're right. It's too soon. I should probably get her a necklace or a bracelet instead."

We enter the store. A lady, wearing a formal uniform, greets us. We tell her that we're just looking around and she gives us a smile and let us be. I scan the bracelet section while Naruto scans the necklace section. There are a lot of impressive jewelleries around the store but I still can't find anything that suits Sakura.

"Oi Sasuke! What do you think of this?" Naruto points at a necklace with a snowflake at the center of it. Near it, two necklaces away, was another necklace with a cherry blossom. Sakura. Cherry Blossom. I try to fight the smirk forming on my lips. I finally found the perfect gift.

"I'll take this one," I tell the clerk, pointing to the cherry blossom necklace. Naruto gives me a surprised look.

"Whoa! No way?! You're paying for my gift to Hinata? Awesome! Thanks dude!" He gives me a light punch at my arm.

"Idiot. I'm pointing to a different necklace. It's for Sakura," I say. Naruto looks at the cherry blossom necklace then to me. He gives me a mischievous smile.

"What?" I ask, feeling a little bit of heat rising to my face. That idiot better stop giving me that creepy smile. He's embarrassing me.

"Oh, nothing. Anyway, I'll take this necklace too miss, the one with the snowflake," the clerk smiles, comments on how we made a good choice, gets the two necklaces and each puts them in a small box. She then leads us to the cash register.

"Do you still want to go to the bookstore?" Naruto asks, handing his credit card to the clerk.

"Yeah, sure. We can look around," I say, as the lady now gives Naruto a small paper bag with the small box inside.

After going to the jewellery store, Naruto and I went to eat fast food then went to the bookstore. At the store, I saw a book that I think Sakura will like. I didn't buy it though because I'm too embarrassed to even bring it to the counter, especially with the dope lingering just around the corner. So I left the book where it is. Naruto and I then parted ways after spending half an hour at a sports store.

* * *

It's now the morning of the 24th. I'm still not talking to Sakura and vice versa. I don't know what's wrong with us. Ugh. It's because of our pride! Dang it! I still yet to thank her for her chemistry notes…I better call her and meet with her tonight. After all, it IS Christmas Eve tonight…But what if she already has plans? What then?...Screw it! I'll just call her. As I am about to grab phone, it starts to vibrate.

_RIIINNGG_

I look at my phone…Why is the dope calling me today? I press the answer button.

"_Oi Sasuke! Where are you?" asks Naruto._

"_At home. Why?"_

"_Did you already give Sakura her gift? I heard from Hinata that she's going to Suna today to spend Christmas over there with her relatives,"_ I feel a pang in my stomach.

"_I already did,"_ I lied.

"_Oh. Cool. What did she say?"_

"_She was…happy."_

"_Oh, nice. Okay, I have to go. I still have to prepare something before I meet Hinata. Later bro. Merry Christmas!"_

"_Merry Christmas."_

_-CLICK-_

I knew it…I knew it! I could have called her sooner and made plans with her. Now what am I gonna do? What am I gonna do with her gift? Her notes? Her…Her…*Sighs*. I feel like most of my world is now revolving around her. It shouldn't be this way. It's only been three months and it's like I'm obsessed with her…I'll let her be then. Give her some space…But haven't I already been doing that? Haven't I been giving her space? Haven't I—

_RRRIIINNGG_

Another phone call? Maybe it's Sakura? I grab my phone, expecting to see a girl's name, only to see an unknown number.

"_Hello?"_

"_Hello? Hi? Sasuke-kun?"_ I hear a girl's voice.

"_Yes?"_

"_It's me, Mayu," _Mayu? Mayu from Techno club? How did she get my number?

"_Right…How did…?"_

"_How did I get your number? I got it from Mr. Sanders. I saw him yesterday and he asked me to call you about the Techno club Christmas party this coming 27__th__. Sakura-senpai forgot to call you about it."_

"_Will she be there?" _I ask.

"_Pardon?" _

"_Will Sakura be there?"_ I repeat.

"_Oh, I don't know. Mr. Sanders told me that Sakura-senpai told him that she'll come as soon as she can. She left for Suna this morning."_

"_Oh, okay."_

"_Is something wrong?"_ she asks with a worried tone.

"_Uh…nothing. Nothing's wrong. Thanks for telling me."_

"_No problem."_

"'_Kay, by—"_

"_Uh, Sasuke-kun?"_ For some reason, I imagine Mayu with a blush on her face.

"_Hn?"_

"_Will you be there?"_

"_I don't know"_

"_Oh. Okay…Uh…"_ I can hear the disappointment in her voice. I suddenly feel bad.

"_I'll probably be there. I guess. Anyway, Merry Christmas."_

"_O-oh! Me-Merry Christmas!"_ Her voice sounds surprised now.

"_Bye,"_ I say.

"_Bye. See ya!" _

_-CLICK—_

*Sighs* I guess I have to go to the Christmas party. I don't know why I said that to Mayu. I just suddenly felt bad. Oh well, no harm in going to a party. I might also see Sakura there and give her her present. All will go well soon. I hope…

* * *

I wake up with the sounds of Christmas Carols ringing in the air. I look outside my window and sees people, mostly couples, walking towards downtown, where the main event for Christmas will occur. I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and washed my face. I now grab my pants and put on a t-shirt. I then grab my winter jacket and put it on, its furs tickling around my neck. I go outside and meet the cold air. For some reason, I feel empty inside. It's the first time I've felt this way. I walk towards the park where one time, I saw Sakura sitting on the other side of a tree where I was sitting. I walk to the cherry blossom tree, its branches all white with snow, still standing tall. I suddenly remember Sakura standing, soaking under the rain, anger in her eyes. Why did I have to hurt her? Why did I get so angry that I was able to punch Lee? How did it end up like this? Why am I feeling all these emotions? I feel another pang in my stomach. I stood before the tree, just staring at it. I then look up, only to see small white flakes falling down from the sky. I am slowly getting covered by the snow. I feel cold. I feel numb. But somehow, just staring at the cherry blossom tree makes me feel warm.

**END**

**A/N: **Hey guys! I know. I know. It's been so long since I've updated this story. It's just that I've been doing much stuff lately. Moreover, my keyboard is broken. I can't use some of the buttons which makes it harder for me to type. I had to go to the library to finish this chapter up. Haha. Anyway, I'm saving up to buy another laptop. Hopefully, I'll get one before the New Year. XD Hope you guys like this one. Not much happened in this chapter. It only focuses on Sasuke's feelings. I know he's quite a bit of an OOC here but I guess he just have to be to fit my story….I guess? XD Anyway, please leave some reviews! Thank you


	6. Chapter 6 The Gift

**Friends or More?**

**Chapter 6: The Gift**

_I see a pair of glasses on the floor. It looks familiar. I pick it up and examine it for a minute. I then hear a girl laugh near me. I look around and see a flash of pink hair entering a room. I follow her. It's dark inside but I manage to see two silhouettes with the help of the moon's light penetrating through the windows. One of the shadows is definitely the girl. She's hugging someone behind the back. A guy...with a bowl-shape cut...Lee...The girl is obviousy Sakura. I am walking towards them when I hear Sakura's voice._

"_Lee…," she whispers, "Please go out with me Lee."_

_I stop on my tracks. The glasses I picked up earlier, clatters on the floor._

"_Lee, I like you. I've had a crush on you for such a long time. Please go out with me," she continues to say._

"_You're going out with Sasuke," Lee says, still his back on Sakura._

"_No, I'm not. We stopped dating a while ago. He's now going out with Mayu." _

_I feel like I'm frozen in time. I can't help but look as the event unfolds in front of me. I can't move my feet. I stare as Lee turns around to face Sakura. A look of shock mixed with happiness can be seen on his face. I look at Sakura. Her face seems to glow under the moonlight. Tears are flowing on her face. Lee cupped Sakura's face between his hands._

"_I'll go out with you Sakura...I love you…" Their faces comes closer and closer. I close my eyes, trying to shield myself from seeing the two be together. After like an eternity, I open my eyes. My surroundings have changed. I am now walking in downtown, alone. Not a single soul can be seen. I continue to walk around until I hear someone call my name._

"_Sasuke-kun!" I turn around to see a brunette girl running towards me. Mayu? What's she doing here? Mayu stops in front of me, a huge smile on her face._

"_What's up Sasuke-kun? Ready for our date?" she grabs my hand and drags me._

"_Where are we going?" I ask._

"_To the park."_

"_Why?"_

"_For a picnic, you silly goose," she laughs._

_Before I can say another word, she suddenly stops, making me bump into her._

"_Isn't that Sakura-senpai?" she points to a girl talking to two other girls._

"_Hn." I look at the three girls. Sakura is opening her bag. She pulls out a notebook and hands it to Mira. I see the two girls say something. Suddenly, in a flash, Sakura is on the grass, her right hand caressing her sored bum. Mira and Rei runs away from her. I ran towards Sakura._

"_Sasuke-kun!" Mayu shouts. I ignore her and continue to run to Sakura._

"_Sasuke-kun, stop!" Mayu keeps on shouting. "Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun!" I continue to run. My legs are starting to hurt but no matter how fast and how far I run, I can't seem to reach Sakura._

"_Sasuke-kun, STOOOPP!" I stop. I stare at Sakura, still far away from me. She stares back in shock. She stands up and runs away. I run back after her. This time, I am able to catch up to her. I grab her hand. She turns her head. Unconsciously, I let go as I look at her tears flowing freely on on her face. I hear a loud honk. I turn my head to the left, a huge truck is coming towards us. I push Sakura away. She looks at me with widen eyes. The truck is just meters away from me. I can feel the headlights coming closer and closer and closer…_

I wake up at the sound of my phone vibrating. I can hear myself breathing heavily...What was that? A dream? It felt so real. What does it mean? Why was Sakura with Lee and I was with Mayu?

I grab my phone from the bedside table and look at the time. 11:00 am. 1 missed call and two text messages from Mayu.

**9:30 am**

**Fr: Mayu (123-4567)**

_Goodmorning Sasuke-kun! The party will be held at 8 pm tonight at Ichinose's karaoke bar. Txt me when you get this._

**10:55 am 1 missed cal from Mayu (123-4567)**

**10:58 am**

**Fr: Mayu (123-4567)**

_I am so sorry Sasuke-kun! I called you without even thinking that you might still be sleeping. I was worried because you haven't replied to me. Again, I am SO sorry!_

I put my phone back on the table. I lie on my bed again and stare at the ceiling. Right. The Techno club party. I still have to go to that. I get up from my bed and fix it. I do my usual morning routine - wash my face, brush my teeth, change my clothing. I grab my phone and text Mayu. After a few minutes, she texted back.

**12:05 am**

**Fr: Mayu (123-4567)**

_Good! See you later :3_

I don't bother to reply back. I go to the kitchen and see the small paper bag from the jewelry store sitting on top of the table. Beside it is another gift that I bought the other day from the bookstore. There's also a Christmas card on top of the gift. I still need to write on that but what to write? Maybe I'll do it later, before the party.

* * *

I spent most of the day in my apartment, just watching T.V. I only have half an hour left before the party and I still yet to figure out what to write on the card. Should I write 'Merry Christmas. This is for you.' or 'Sorry. Merry Christmas.'? And how about the Chemistry notes? Thinking about all of this makes my head hurt. This is why I don't like this kind of stuff. Girls. Relationship…Love…Did I just say love? I'm definitely not in love. Why am I doing this again? To prove what? A picture of Shikamaru pops in my head, _"Sasuke here has to prove to us that he's straight and can ask any girl out."_ Right. Those guys. Moreover, I actually need Sakura dor the prom. It'll be convenient to have her until then so I don't have to ask anybody out for the event.

**BEEP! **A text message.

**6:58 pm**

**Fr: Shinji (234-5678)**

_Hey, u coming tonight?_

Oh yeah. Shinji. At least he'll be there. I'll have someone to talk to.

**6:59 pm**

**To: Shinji (234-5678)**

_Yeah. I'll be there at around 8:30._

**BEEP!**

**7:01 pm**

**Fr: Shinji (234-5678)**

_Awesome. Wanna meet up at the yamanaka flowershop at 8:30 then go to the party?_

Hn. Sounds fine to me. I reply back, agreeing to meet up with him.

**7:05 pm**

**Fr: Shinji (234-5678)**

_Cool. See ya later._

I spent more than half an hour watching T.V. again. I look at the time. 7:28 pm. Time to go. The Yamanaka Flower Shop is about 20 minutes away on foot from my apartment. I'll probably be there before 8:30, better than being late. I hate being late. I turn off the T.V and go to the bathroom to change clothes. Once I'm done, I go to the kitchen to grab my gifts for Sakura. I stare at the rectangular gift. Should I bring it or not? After a minute of thinking, I decided not to take it. I grab the card, which I still haven't written on, and the paper bag. I lock my apartment and head to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. I look at my watch after arriving at the meeting place. 8:20 pm. 10 more minutes before 8:30. I take out my phone and see a text message from Mayu.

**8:13 pm**

**Fr: Mayu (234-5678)**

_Goodevening! We're in room 132_. See ya!

I put my phone back in my pocket and go to sit on a bench just in front of the shop. I stare at the flowers inside the shop which is now closed.

"Hey Sasuke!" I hear a girl call out to me. I turn my head to the source of the voice. I see a long-haired blonde girl holding hands with a pale guy with black hair. Ino and Sai.

"What's up?" I ask as I stand up to greet them.

"Just strolling around. Sai here asked me to go out for dinner," the said guy smiles at me.

"Anyway, how about you? What are you doing in front of our shop?" she asks, giving me a teasing look.

"Waiting for someone," I say as I sit down again.

"Mmhhmm, bet you're waiting for Sakura, am I right?" she continues to smile.

"No," I casually say. At this, her smile fades away for a second and back on once again.

"Or…maybe you're waiting for me?" I look at her. She bats her eyes and winks at me. I give her an annoyed look. She laughs. Sai just continues to smile. What's up with this girl? And why is she with this guy? Isn't she seeing Shikamaru? Before I can say another word, she gives me a serious face.

"You know what, it's a good thing I bumped into you. I want to talk to you for a minute…alone," she says. She looks at Sai and smiles, "Sai, could you be a sweetheart and leave us for a minute?" she gives Sai a peck on the cheek, grabs my arms and drags me to a corner, leaving Sai sitting on the bench.

"Hey, I know what you're thinking. You think I'm cheating on Shikamaru right?" her blue eyes stares intensely into my black ones, like it's looking for an honest answer to her question. I stare back. "Maybe," I say.

"Well I'm not!" she snaps. Whoa. She's just like Sakura. Girls are really something. One second this girl was teasing me then in a flash she's now being all drama to me.

Silence lingers around us. She is now looking at the ground. I look at my watch. 8:25 pm. Shinji will be in front of the shop any time now.

"Ino, I—"

"Tell him I'm sorry," she whispers.

"What?"

"Tell Shikamaru I'm sorry." She looks at me, her eyes glistening. She's been repressing her tears.

"I…I confessed to him even though I know he's been having feelings for Temari..…I confessed to him, knowing he'll say yes to me because I'm his childhood friend. I confessed to him because I wanted him to be with me instead of him being with her. I confessed to him because I don't want to get myself hurt," I just stare at Ino, her eyes now producing tears.

"I thought having him with me will make me happy…but I was wrong. He's too in love with Temari to even have feelings for me. We haven't been talking for 2 weeks now and it's been killing me. I want to apologize for shouting at him. I mean it's not his fault for falling in love with her and not with me. It's my fault for getting his feelings mixed up. I…I just want to say sorry. I don't want him to think that I've moved on so fast like we didn't happen. I've just given up on him. I still want to be his friend though. I mean I loved him…but I still love him as my friend…I…I…," she covers her face and sobs. After hearing out Ino, it made me realize that we are on the same boat. We are both at fault and are finding it hard to apologize to a certain someone. With a feeling of what I have to do, I grab Ino's shoulders, causing her tear-stricken face to look at me.

"Don't," I say. She gives me a confused look.

"Don't ask me to apologize to Shikamaru on behalf of you. It's your fault. You have to do it yourself. I know it'll be hard to meet and talk to him face-to-face but you have to do it. I don't want to be a part of your drama. I have other things to be worried about so you have to do it by yourself. Just talk to him. We both know, he'll be more than willing to talk to his childhood friend than anyone," Ino just continues to look at me. I can see that she's trying to sink in all what I just said. She breathes in and heaves a big sigh. She then grabs a handkerchief from her shoulder bag and wipes her eyes. She then gives me a smile and chuckles. Girls are definitely weird. Look at her. Now she's smiling and chuckling like nothing happened.

"Wow Sasuke. I didn't know you have so much wisdom in you," she says, pulling out a mirror from her bag.

"Hn…" Silence.

"You like Sai?" I ask out of nowehere.

"Hm? Do I like him?" she looks at herself at the mirror and traces the handkerchief under her eyes. "Of course I like Sai! He's such a darling, and a charmer. Though at times he can be a little bit annoying and kinda mysterious, but hey! That should keep our relationship an interesting one," she says, turning her eyes on me and winking. She puts back both the mirror and the handkerchief back in her bag and grabs my arm. "C'mon. I don't want to keep Sai waiting anymore."

As we walk back to the Flower Shop, I look at the time. 8:40. Great. 10 minutes behind.

"Sai! C'mon! Let's go sweetheart!" calls out Ino, waving her hand, causing the two guys sitting on the bench to look at her. Ino turns to me and says quietly.

"Oh my gosh Sasuke. I didn't know you're into guys. I'm shocked! I know you and Sakura haven't been in good terms lately but I didn't know you've moved on and replaced her with…with a younger and hot, I might add, guy! I'm happy for you for going out in the open," she smiles at me innocently, obviously teasing. I glare at her and she laughs. We continue to walk towards Sai and Shinji.

"Hey," greets Shinji, standing up together with Sai.

"Hey," I greet back. Ino looks at me then Shinji then back to me and smiles teasingly, earning her another glare from me. Geez, this girl is annoying. Shinji looks at Ino, who is still smiling, then to me.

"Uh…is there something wrong?" Shinji asks.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Nothing's wrong." Ino says, winks at me and wraps her arm around Sai's. I continue to give her an annoyed look.

"We're going now. Let's go Sai…and thank you Sasuke." She now gives me a sincere smile. I give her a nod. They then both walk away.

"Isn't that Ino-senpai?" Shinji asks as we walk towards the karaoke bar.

"Yeah…Hey, Mayu texted me a while ago telling me they're in room 132," I say, changing the subject. Shinji seems to notice my aversion so he just nods.

"What's that?" he points at the paper bag.

"It's for Sakura."

"A Christmas gift?" I nod. Shinji gives me a confused look then realizes something.

"Oh yeah, Sakura-san spent her Christmas at Suna," I just nod.

It took us 5 minutes to reach our destination. Outside the room, we can hear the blurred sound of someone singing. Shinji opens the door. Loud music and laughter reach our ears.

"Sasuke! Shinji! Welcome!" Mr. Sanders greets us. He is holding a microphone and is standing in front of a T.V. screen. He then continues to sing his song. I look around the room. In front of me is a table full of foods and to my left, at the back of the room, is a big corner bench sofa. I also see chairs around, giving people some seats that can't be accommodated by the sofa. At the center of the sofa is another table with drinks.

"Sasuke-kun! Shinji-san! Merry Christmas!" I see Mayu coming towards us.

"Merry Christmas," I greet back.

"Merry Christmas Mayu," Shinji greets. "Hey, I'm just going to get some food. I'm starving," Shinji says, leaving Mayu and I alone. Mayu looks at me shyly for a second. Her face suddenly lights up as if she just remembered something.

"Oh yeah! I have something for you!" she walks away from me and goes to one of the chairs where a bag is sitting on it. She grabs the bag, opens it and rummages through it as she walks back to me.

"Here!" she pushes her right hand out to me, fist clenched. I stare at her.

"What's this?" I ask. I see a little tinge of red on her cheeks.

"My Christmas gift," she says, her eyes on the floor. I continue to look at her. I'm debating whether I should accept it or not. Mayu fidgets. She's clearly embarrassed. I stretch out my hand, palm up. She looks up at me with a surprised face and smiles. She unclenched her fist and a small gift, wrapped in blue Christmas paper with snowflakes on it, drops on my hand.

"Thanks," I say.

"You're welcome," she beams at me.

"Say, is Sakura here yet?" I ask as I look around.

"Sakura-san and Lee-san aren't here yet. They're the only ones who aren't here. I heard from Mr. Sanders that Lee is waiting for Sakura-san at the train station," I feel a nerve throb on my head. Why do I feel angry whenever I hear Sakura's and Lee's names together? I shouldn't feel this way. Mayu seems to have notice my reaction as she tries to comfort me, "Don't worry. Lee-san has been picking up Sakura-san from the train station every time she comes back from Suna. They're childhood friends after all." I feel more annoyed after hearing her words. I tell Mayu that I'll grab some food and she goes back to her chair. I go to the food table and get some snacks. I then get a soda and see Shinji sitting and eating near the table. I get a chair and sit beside him.

"What's that?" Shinji asks as he shoves noodles to his mouth, seeing my gift from Mayu.

"Mayu gave it to me," I say. Shinji looks at me.

"Look man, Mayu has a crush on you," he says seriously. I open my soda and a pop sound escapes from it. "I know," I say.

"Oh. I thought you didn't know," I don't reply to him.

"She's been crushing on you for forever, even before you joined the club. She's been in my class for 2 years and I often hear her friends teasing her about you."

"Hn."

"I'm just saying this 'cause I think you should know, especially you dating Sakura-san. I mean, have you talked to her since, you know, the incident?" My body seems to stiffen. I see Shinji looking at me, eyeing my reaction.

"No," I say.

"Oh, uh…I think you-" I don't hear Shinji's next words, even the sound of people chatting and singing are blocked as I am pulled into my own thoughts…Right. I have to apologize to Sakura. I guess I have to wait for her to come to the party. A picture of a Christmas card then pops into my head. Oh yeah, I still have to write on that. I should write down my apology too in case she doesn't show up.

"-I mean you do love her, right?" I stand up and throw my empty plate to the garbage, which is just beside me. I walk towards the door.

"Where're you going?" Shinji asks with a tone of surprise.

"Washroom," I say.

"Oh, ok."

I leave the room and look around to find somewhere to sit. I spot a chair near the information desk, sit down and take the Christmas card out of the paper bag. After minutes of pondering, I finally start to write on the card.

"What's that?" I hear someone behind me ask. I turn around to see Shinji.

"What are you doing here?"

"You've been outside for more than 10 minutes. I was wondering if you left."

"Hn," I continue to write down on the card.

"Is that for Sakura-san?"

"Yeah," I say. Shinji stands for about a minute then taps me on the shoulder. I look up at him. He points his head at the entrance where I can see Lee getting out of a car. I immediately finish writing on the card. I give a sign to Shinji that we should go back to the karaoke room. He complies and we walk together back to the room. After less than 5 minutes, Lee enters the room.

"Lee! Welcome!" greets Mr. Sanders, who is now eating a cake in the corner of the room.

"Thank you Mr. Sanders. Here, I brought some snacks," Lee hands the bag of chips to Mr. Sanders.

"Where's Sakura?" asks Mr. Sanders. Lee frowns, "She just texted me that she has to stay for Suna for another day."

"Oh, that's too bad," says Mr. Sanders. The two continue to talk for a while. I don't bother to listen to them as I've found out that the reason I came to this party won't be coming tonight. I stand up and head for the door.

"Where're you again?" asks Shinji once again. I don't reply. He follows me and seems to notice my holding the paper bag. He pats me at the back and wishes me 'Merry Christmas' and good luck. I hear Mayu calling out my name before I close the door. I ignore her. I have to go somewhere and do something. If I don't do it now, I don't know if I'll ever be able to do it.

* * *

I head towards the direction of my apartment. Before reaching it, I stop in front of a house 10 minutes away from the comfort of my bed. In front of me is its white gate that I often see whenever I drop Sakura off. About 2 meters away from it is the house's door. Not a light can be seen inside. I put the paper bag on the pillar of cement supporting the gate and continue to walk home, hoping she'll be able to forgive me and will be willing to talk to me soon when she sees my gift.

* * *

3 days have passed and I still haven't heard from Sakura. I do know, after Shinji texted me, that she got back from Suna. I don't know if she's still mad at me. Heck, I don't even know if she got my gift. Maybe some random person might have seen the paper bag and took it for their own. I should probably invite her tonight for the fireworks at downtown considering it's the last day of the year. I guess it's the least thing I can do for her.

I grab my phone from the kitchen table and unlock the screen. To my surprise, there's an unread message from Sakura.

**11:08 am**

**Fr: Sakura (345-6789)**

_Hey. Do you want to meet up at the park before midnight?_

I stare at the text message. Is this for real? After 3 days, she finally contacted me? What took her so long? I don't know why but I feel a little bit annoyed at the same time relieved that she texted me. After all, it's been more than a week since the workshop. I reply back.

**12:15 pm**

**To: Sakura (345-6789)**

_Sure. See you at 11:30_?

I wait a few minutes for her to reply.

**12:22 pm**

**Fr: Sakura (345-6789)**

_Okay. See you._

* * *

I spent most of my day thinking what might happen tonight. What should I say to her? Should I greet her immediately? Should I apologize on the spot? Would she cry? Would she break up with me? If so, should I agree to break it off or force her to stay in a relationship with me? I've been thinking about all these things that I didn't realize that it's already 11:10 pm. I change into my winter clothes as fast as I can. I lock my apartment door and walk towards the park. After walking for about 15 minutes, I finally reached the meeting place. Sakura is still not here. I sit on the bench and wait. I shiver a little bit as the cold wraps around me. I see my breath form.

"Hey," I hear someone say. I look up to see emerald eyes staring at me.

"Hey," I greet back, standing up. She sits beside me and I sit down again. I continue to stare at her. She's changed. She doesn't have any glasses anymore and she had cut her hair shorter, about shoulder-length. She blushes when she notices that I'm staring at her. I look to another direction.

"Uh…yeah…I kinda changed my look. One of my younger cousins cut my hair while I was asleep. It was meant to be a prank," she gives a nervous laugh as she plays with her hair. "My mother fixed my hair after that. Then my aunt recommended me to use contact lenses instead of glasses to um…to…she said that it will help people see my eyes more."

Silence.

"You don't like it?" she asks. To my surprise and to hers, I answer her question , "No…I...I do like it. You look more…beautiful." She blushes.

Another silence.

"Umm…I'm sorry," she suddenly says. I give her a surprised look.

"I'm…" Geez, apologizing is harder than I thought. "I'm…I'm sorry as well," I finally say. She gives me a smile.

"I have something for you," she hands me a rectangular gift wrapped in red and green wrapper.

"What's this?" I ask.

"My Christmas gift for you. C'mon open it," she gives me a huge smile, encouraging me to open the gift. I tear the wrapper off to reveal a white box. I open the box and inside it is a pair of blue gloves and a blue scarf. All of them have a symbol of a fan, red and white in color.

"I didn't contact you until today because I was making those. I wasn't able to finish knitting it in Suna because my cousins kept on bugging me. So yeah…"

"You made…these?" I ask, examining the scarf and gloves.

"Yeah…" she replies. I'm speechless. I don't know what to say. Here I am, pride standing as tall as the CN Tower, yet here she is, giving me hand-knitted gifts. She watches me as I put on both the scarf and the gloves.

"Oh yeah, I got your gift," she beams, pulling the necklace out of her winter jacket.

"Why aren't you wearing it?" I ask.

"Well, I think it's unfair for me to wear your gift while you haven't gotten yours yet," she says as she unclasps the necklace and tries to wear it.

"Right," I say. I take the necklace from her, earning me a surprised look from her. I stand up and walk behind her and put the necklace around her neck.

"Thank you," she whispers. "It's beautiful."

"Hn."

"So do you wanna go to the hill and see the fireworks tonight?" she asks, standing up looking at her watch. "It's already 11:50. The fireworks will start at midnight."

"Sure," I say. We walk together towards the middle of the park where a high hill can be seen. We climb the hill and is huffing and puffing when we finally reach the top.

"Wow that was some workout!" Sakura says, laughing.

"Yeah…"

Silence. This is getting more awkward.

"I…"

"I…" We both say at the same time.

We look at each other.

"Go ahead," I say

"No, you go ahead."

"Okay," I say, "I just want to tell you if you want to break it off, you can." She stares at me for a second and gives a sad smile.

"Honestly, after what happened at the workshop, I considered really breaking up with you. But then I thought, this is my first relationship with a guy and I don't want to end it with him angry at me or me angry at him. I didn't contact you because I didn't know how to react. I didn't know what to do," At this, I smile. We have been dealing with the same emotions for the past several days. "Then I saw your gift and read your card and I was glad. I knew I made the right decision to make you the gloves and scarf." She smiles at me and looks into my eyes. I stare back.

"Remember three months ago, when you asked who my crush was?" she asks.

"Yeah…" I say.

"Well, it's…" I hear the sound of fireworks shooting for the sky.

"…you." **BOOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

She jumps as the loud sounds of the fireworks echoes throughout the sky. She looks up at the sky, smiling, and acting like nothing happened, like she didn't confess to me. I don't know why but her confessing her feelings to me put a smile on my face. I chuckle, remembering my dream of Sakura and Lee, her confessing her feelings to him and her kissing him. Right now it seems so absurd that I would dream something like that. Sakura seems to have noticed my reaction and looks at me with a confused look. I walk up to her closer and grab her hand. She blushes a little bit but doesn't pull away. We enjoy the warmth of each other's hands as we watch the fireworks together under the starlit sky.

_**Sakura,**_

_**I'm sorry for what happened at the workshop. I don't know what had gotten into me. Everything that I've said, it doesn't mean anything. They're just words that have no meaning. I let my anger take control of me and I'm sorry. Let Lee know that too. Here's a Christmas gift for you. I hope you like it. Merry Christmas.**_

_**PS: I also thank you for the Chemistry notes.**_

_**Sasuke**_

**A/N: **Hey guys! Here's another long chapter for you! Hope you like it. :) It'll probably take me some time to update my story as school is staring once again this fall. Please be patient with me. Thanks for all your support and please leave some reviews! :)


	7. Chapter 7 The Painting and the Form

**Friends or More?**

**Chapter 7: The Painting and the Form**

I am now on my bed, eyes wide open staring at the ceiling, contemplating whether to get up now. After spending New Year's Eve watching the fireworks on top of a hill with Sakura, talking for hours and getting to know more of each other, I asked her out on a date the next day. I asked if she wanted to go to a museum with me on Saturday after school starts again. She instantly agreed which made me feel relieved. I felt contented as if a weight on my body has been lifted off. Call it cliché or what but that really was what I felt when I heard her say yes. Hah, a date in the museum. Sounds boring, but I bet Sakura would love to go to this particular museum.

Honestly, I don't know what's going on with me. I can't seem to stop thinking of Sakura. When I see something interesting, the first person that pops in my mind is her. It's like I want to tell her everything that is happening to me. I don't know when this "new" feelings, if that's what you call it, happened….probably during the Techno Club workshop or was it after? Ahh, it doesn't really matter. All I know is that I'm not in love with her. I'm just attracted to her….right? I mean, it's not the same thing I felt when I was with… … …Ugh, why am I thinking of that girl? I shouldn't think of her. I promised to myself that I won't think of her again. She was the reason why I now suck with relationships. C'mon Sasuke, forget about Si…Don't you dare say her name! C'mon, you should prepare for your date today. Think of Sakura not the other girl.

I decided to get up and prepare my breakfast. I look at the clock and it's only 7'oclock in the morning. I have to pick Sakura up at 10. I still have 3 hours.

I take my time preparing my breakfast – bacon, bread with butter, and an omelette. I then take a shower and pick a decent clothing for today. Since it's not that cold anymore, I put on a regular t-shirt, pants and a blue hoodie. I think that should be okay. I look at the clock and I see that I still have 30 minutes before 10. I grab my stuff and lock my door. I then walk towards Sakura's home.

* * *

By the time I get to her house, she is already standing outside the gate, wearing yet again pants instead of a dress…not that I'm complaining since it's winter. Anyway, at least she's wearing a dark green blouse with a gray cardigan on top and her short pink hair in pigtails. She also has this small black shoulder bag with her.

"You look…nice," I comment, earning a blush from her as she walks toward me.

"Thanks. Same goes to you," I smile and grabs her hand. She instinctively tries to pull way but I hold her hand firmly. She finally relaxes.

"You're only saying that because I complimented you first," I tease. She gives me a look and grins. I grin back.

"So, where is this museum?" she asks.

"I don't know," I reply. As soon as I let out these words, she stops on her tracks. I let go of her hand and turn around.

"Are you serious?" she gives me a surprised look.

"Yes," I lie. She gives me a 'are you kidding me?' look. After a few seconds, she smiles.

"Fine. I guess we can just go to the mall or something," she walks ahead of me, makes a turn to the left, heading for the mall. I chuckle as I follow her.

"I'm just kidding. The museum is this way," I say and grab her hand dragging her in the opposite direction.

"Sasuke!" she says in a surprised tone. "Stop dragging me, geez. You're ruining my look," she pulls her hand away from me, making me turn around to face her once again. She gets a mirror from her bag and looks at herself. She gives an annoyed look as she pretends to put something on her lips. She looks at me and then to the mirror, dabbing her lips.

"Are you kidding me?" I ask, getting her joke.

"No."

"You know you're a bad actress," I say as she puts the mirror back in her bag.

"Oh, whatever do you mean…honey?" she says which caught me off guard. She then realizes what she just said and blushes. I smirk.

"Oh, I did not just say that," she exclaims.

"Oh, yes you did," I continue to smirk and grab her hand.

"C'mon…hon, let's go to the museum," I say. I see her exaggerated shudder and I laugh.

"Let's just pretend that didn't happen," she says as we continue to walk together.

"Fine," I say. She smiles.

"I still think you're a bad actress. I mean why would you put something on your lips when I just dragged you? You should have fixed your hair, not your lips," I added, earning a light-hearted punch on the shoulder.

* * *

We finally reached the museum that I've been wanting Sakura to see. It's a fairly new museum in the area. It's an Ancient Greek museum featuring different statues and paintings of gods and goddesses. As soon as we enter the building, I can see awe in Sakura's face.

"I didn't know that we have this museum in the city," Sakura says, looking around.

"Yeah, it's fairly new. I heard about this place from one of my friends maybe a few months ago. I just remembered and I thought that maybe you would like to see this since you mentioned that you like reading about Greek mythology," I say.

Sakura looks at me. I can see in her eyes that she is moved by what I just said.

"Thank you," she looks at the water fountain at the center of the museum and adds, "That's really thoughtful of you."

* * *

We've been in the museum for maybe an hour when Sakura sees a painting of a woman and a man. They were both looking at a tree trunk on which the man was writing something. Under the painting reads the title 'Paris and Oenone'.

"Have you seen the movie 'Troy' or 'Helen of Troy'?" she asks. I look at her. She's still looking at the picture.

"No. But I've heard about Helen of Troy. She was considered the most beautiful girl in the world. There was a war that happened because of her," she nods her head.

"You're right. She was the wife of King Menelaus. She was abducted by Paris, Prince of Troy and brother of King Menelaus, which brought the Trojan War. What people don't know was that Paris had a wife, Oenone," she looks at me in the eyes and I look back. She has this sad expression. She looks back at the painting and continues to tell her story.

"He left Oenone and ran off with the young and beautiful Helen. When the siege came in the city and he was wounded, he begged Oenone to take him back. What do you think Oenone did?" she asks.

"She didn't take him back?" I say, unsure of my answer. She nods her head.

"She refused to take him back. But when she heard that Paris died, she committed suicide and hung herself." Silence. I hear her sigh and looks at me.

"I mean, it's amazing what people do for love. Oenone refused to take Paris back even though she still loved him. It's sad that she committed suicide when he found out about his death. I think if she just accepted his death and continue to live on, she'll probably find another love." I nod.

"C'mon, let's look around some more," she says as she walks toward a statue of yet another goddess.

Sakura's story triggers something in me. Oenone and Paris' story seems familiar. I can't put my finger on it but it reminds me of something. I seem to be caught in my thoughts because next thing I know, Sakura is waving her hand in front of me.

"Are you okay?" she asks, worry can be seen on her face.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm…I'm fine. Just thinking of something," I say.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," I reply. She gives me another look and I force a smile. She heads toward another painting to examine it. I follow her.

* * *

It's now been about two and a half hours since we entered the museum. We finally finished looking all around. Sakura sure takes her time appreciating all the artifacts. I've still been thinking of Oenone and Paris' story though. I finally managed to know why the story seems so familiar.

"You okay?" I hear Sakura ask.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. You seem to be in your thoughts after you heard Oenone and Paris' story. Did it remind you of anything?"

"No." I lied. She stares at me for a few seconds and decides to let it off.

"We should eat something. I'm hungry. How about we go to a ramen shop? I saw one along the street near the museum," she says. I nod and we make our way out of the museum.

We manage to find the ramen shop Sakura saw. A waitress got our orders and now we're just sitting across from each other, silence lingering around us. She stares at the window which is right beside us.

"Have you ever been in love?" she asks, still staring out the window. This is the second time she caught me off guard.

"What?"

"Have you ever been in love?" she repeats, now looking at me. I return her look, debating in my head whether I should answer her question or not. Before I could say anything, the waitress brings our orders. We thank her and Sakura and I eat our food in silence.

"You know what, forget my question. I know it's personal. Sorry," she says. "I was just overwhelmed with all the Greek love stories I read while I was in the museum. Anyway, thank you so much for bringing me there. I really appreciate it. I loved it." She gives me a smile. I look at her and notices that she's wearing the necklace I gave her.

"Nice necklace," I comment, smirking. She looks down and pulls the silver chain.

"This? Yeah, it's beautiful isn't it? I got it from someone."

"Someone special?"

"You might say that," she smiles as she examines the cherry blossom necklace. She then looks at me. I smile back. I don't know why but I feel warm inside. It's like when she smiles, I feel…happy. This is definitely not like the time when I was dating Si…na. There, I finally said her name.

"Hey, it's still early. Want to go somewhere else?" I ask. She thinks for a moment.

"Come to think of it, I just remembered something! Mr. Sanders just asked me to make something for the prom. But I guess I could do it tomorrow." Prom. Right. I have to ask her to the prom.

"Hey Sakura," I call out.

"Hmm?" she looks at me with a questioning look.

"Will you go to the prom with me?" I ask. I see her frown a little bit and thinks about it for a while then I hear her say, "I would love to go to the prom with you. But I really don't like dances so…," she trails off.

"C'mon, it's just a once in a lifetime event."

"Hmm…fine. I'll go with you. Mr. Sanders and Lee would probably force me to go to the prom anyway," she says.

"Thank you," I say and she looks at me with a surprised look.

"No. Thank you," she says. "Thank you for asking me out." I give her a nod and a smile.

* * *

Sakura and I spent the rest of the day in the mall and in the park. By the time we reached her house's gate, it was already 7:30 in the evening.

"Thanks for today," she says as she rummages her bag for her keys.

"You're welcome," I reply. I then notice something in her mailbox.

"You have mail by the way," I say. She looks at the mailbox and I see her eyes light up. She gets the white envelope and opens it. She read the letter for a while and I see a smile slowly forming on her face.

"Oh my gosh! I got in! I got in!" Sakura can't seem to control her excitement. She's practically jumping up and down.

"What is it? What is it?" I ask, trying to read the letter behind her back.

"I got in!" she turns around and gives me a very tight hug.

"What is it?" I ask once again. She lets go of me.

"Well, I applied to Suna and Konoha University to study nursing. I haven't heard from Konoha yet since the results will be out this summer. But this!" she waves the letter in front of me, "is a letter from Suna University saying that I got accepted in the program."

"They said that since my grades are exceptional, they are considering to give me guaranteed spot in the Nursing program. All I have to do is to keep my grade up until I graduate," she says, finally calming down a little bit.

"Wait, you applied to Suna?" I ask, surprised.

"Of course!"

"You're leaving Konoha? How about your family here and your friends?" I ask.

"Well, I applied for Konoha University as well. If I get in, I don't have to worry about anything. But if I don't get in Konoha, I'll still go to Suna because no one can't stop me from being a nurse, or rather, a doctor. I want to help people, Sasuke. Make a change." Her hopeful eyes shone like she can finally reach her dreams. I can see her passion and determination to be a doctor. I can't help but feel proud of her.

"Congratulations. I'm proud of you." I say. She seems to be a bit of surprised when I said these words.

"Thank you," she says.

"How about you? Do you have any plans after we graduate?"

"No, not really."

"Oh, okay." She seems a little bit disappointed, which made me feel kind of bad. I mean, here she is, her plans all laid out in front her while here I am, not caring about my future. I feel like I want to go and make a change as well just like her. She makes me wish to be a better person.

"Oh yeah, I finally found my keys. Haha," she dangles her keys in front of me. She opens the gate when I stop her. I suddenly felt the urge to say something to her.

"Sakura, wait." She stops and closes the gate.

"Yes?"

"Sorry about earlier, I was kind of out of it for a while," I say.

"No worries," she gives me a smile.

"No, actually, you're right. After hearing Oenone and Paris' story, it reminded me of something," I say. Sakura doesn't say anything, letting me continue on.

"Earlier, when you asked me if I've ever fallen in love, I honestly didn't know how to answer. But after thinking about it, I can say yes, I think I've fallen in love. I'm not sure but I think I've fallen in love," Sakura smiles. I don't know why but it seems like she's sad to hear this.

"Your ex-girlfriend left you?" she asks, which astonished me. How did she know that?

"H-how did you know?" I ask, clearly surprised.

"Well, in Oenone and Paris' story, Paris left Oenone. I'm guessing you're Oenone in the story and your girlfriend is Paris, or is it the other way around?" Wow, I guess I was being too obvious.

"You're right. Sina, my ex-girlfriend left me for another guy. I was dating her for almost a year when she broke up with me. She then realized that the guy was a douchebag and she asked me if I'm still interested in dating her." I stop.

"And you said no even though you love her right?" Sakura says in a sad tone.

"Well I—" Before I can finish what I'm saying, Sakura's phone rings.

"Oh, it's my mom. I better go inside. I bet she's worried since I told her I'll be home by seven. Do you want to come inside?" she asks. I think for a while and I finally decided to decline the offer.

"Oh okay, goodnight then. I'll see you on Monday. Thanks again for today," she says as she once again opens the gate. I begin to walk towards my apartment when I hear Sakura call out my name. I turn around to see her walking to me. She stops in front of me.

"Thanks for sharing me about your past. I know it was hard for you at that time and I'm glad you didn't do what Oenone did," she laughs, "now I know what'll happen if she did live. I bet you'll find the perfect person for you who will love you as much as you loved Sina.

"I did—" I'm not able to finish my sentence because Sakura leans in and kisses me on the cheek.

"Have a good night," she says and walks towards her house. I stand in place, looking at her, thinking if what just happened did happen. I see her wave and finally enter the gate. I feel warm again. I feel like there's butterflies in my stomach. I feel like I just want to lay on my bed and smile all the day. This is really weird. I head home to my apartment, all the while thinking of Sakura.

* * *

"Hey, what's that?" the dope asks when he sees the white paper that I'm holding. I sit beside him in the cafeteria, gets a black pen and starts to fill up the form.

"An application form," I simply reply.

"An application for what?" I hear Neji ask.

"An application form for both Konoha and Suna University." At this, I hear whistles and surprised comments from the guys.

"What program is the Mr. 'I don't care about my future' going to take?" Naruto asks.

"I don't know yet."

"What? What kind of application is that? You have to at least know what you want to do."

"I don't know yet, alright? I just want to apply to a university and I'll just figure out from there what I want to do," I say, slightly irritated at Naruto at the same time at myself since I still don't know what to do.

"Sounds like an okay plan," Shikamaru says. "How's everything going with Sakura?" he adds.

At this, I smile in my head but I keep a cool look for the guys.

"You know, same old, same old," I reply.

"Is it Sakura's fault that you're applying to university? Is she forcing you to go to one?" Naruto asks suspiciously. I don't answer.

"Idiot, you know Sasuke doesn't follow people's orders even if he is forced to do something," says Kiba.

"Then why is he applying to university?"

"He might just have had a change of heart," Chouji says

"Or he decided he wants to get rich and have lots of money," Naruto says

"Or he finally realizes that life will take you nowhere if you don't get the right education," adds Neji.

As the boys argue, I continue to fill up my form.

"…Or Sasuke was inspired by Sakura that he decided he wants to make a change in his life," says Shikamaru, which finally puts a smile on my face. "That my friend is where you got it right," I thought. But the guys just laughed it off and continue to argue.

**END**

**A/N:** Heya guys! First of all, I want to greet everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Here's a late gift for all of you. I wasn't able to write because of school and also, some of my keyboard keys on my laptop stopped working so yeah… But I got a new laptop this Christmas so I thought, what better way to put use of my new laptop by typing a 'Friends or More?' chapter? So…Tada! I hope you like this one. Please leave some reviews and I wish you all a wonderful New Year! :D


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